FamiliesUSA: 28 percent of Ohioans uninsured in past 2 years

A new study from health coverage advocacy group FamiliesUSA has found that 28.8 percent of Ohioans younger than 65 were without insurance at some point in the past two years (Source: “Uninsured Ohioans have lots of company,” Columbus Dispatch, April 8, 2009).

That estimate is similar to the results of the most recent Ohio Health Issues Poll conducted by the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati. Released in August, that poll found that 30 percent of Ohioans were either currently uninsured or had been uninsured in the past 12 months. The 30 percent figure is much higher than the 17 uninsured rate identified in the Ohio Family Health Survey because the OFHS asked respondents about their insurance status only for the week prior to being interviewed.

The FamiliesUSA report, which used Census Bureau statistics, also found that nearly 71 percent of the 2.8 million uninsured Ohioans went more than six months without coverage. The survey also showed that African-Americans were far more likely to be without insurance than whites. Thirty-nine percent of African-Americans lacked health coverage at some point in the past two years, compared with 26 percent of white Ohioans.